The Power of Two
by JLaw13
Summary: Winnifred and Cecilia grew up on the streets together. But when Winnifred develops powers and is taken in by the Avengers, Cecilia is left alone. Now they've been apart for five years, and discover that they are roommates in college. Can they become friends again? is Winnifred the only one with powers? Are they fighting on opposite sides?
1. Cecilia

I hear voices outside the door.

"Here hold this. I'm going to get another box from the car. Let you and your new roommate _bond_ without me."

"Oh my god, Wanda you're being ridiculous. We haven't even met yet!"

"Whatever you say…" The sound of footsteps retreats down the hallway and I hear a key turning in the lock. I brace myself for fake smiles and awkward small talk as the door swings open… and I find myself staring into the shocked eyes of the last person I expected to see.

The silence (which lasts for the longest moment of my life) is punctuated by a crash as she (can it really be her?) drops the large cardboard box in her arms, and clothes and books spill everywhere.

"Lia? Is it really you?" she asks tentatively. Just the sound of my name in her mouth makes the memories come rushing back.

 _I'm sitting in an alleyway at night. Huddled against the wall, wrapped in blankets, I shiver uncontrollably in the March air. I'm eating stale pizza crusts I found behind a Domino's, nibbling on them as slowly as I can so that they last longer. Suddenly, a shadow looms into the semi-darkness as a figure walks in from the street. By now, I know well enough to press myself deeper into the blankets and against the wall. It's dark in the alleyway and it should be impossible for them to see me if I keep still. But whoever it is is heading directly towards me... almost as if they know I am there. I clutch my pocketknife tightly between my shaking fingers (knowing deep down I'll never have the guts to use it) and prepare for pain, humiliation, death… whatever suffering life has decided to throw at me this time. But then the figure comes closer._

 _It's a girl. She looks about my age. She has straggly brown hair that looks like it's never seen a brush and is wearing the tattered remnants of what might once have been a blue hospital gown. I stare fascinated as she holds out a hand._

" _What do you want?" I ask nervously. She says nothing. "Go away," I say more forcefully this time. She continues to stare at me with desperate eyes and an outstretched hand. I look down and realize what she wants: the pizza crust. My growling stomach begs me not to give it up, but I just want her to go away. And maybe there's a small part of me left that feels pity for this sad creature. "Fine. Take it. Just leave me alone, okay?" I thrust the pizza at her and then retreat back into my blankets. But she doesn't leave. She takes the crust- and practically inhales it- then sits down in front of me, still staring._

" _Who are you?" she whispers tentatively. I'm almost surprised to hear her speak._

" _It doesn't matter. Just go away. You don't want to be here- trust me."_

 _She finally looks down. "I'm here because I have to be," she says. I can't help but feel a little sorry for her. And maybe- just maybe- it wouldn't be so bad to not be alone. Just for a bit._

" _What's your name?" I ask._

" _I'm W."_

 _I frown. "Okay… But what's your_ actual _name?" She seems confused so I try again. "Like what's your full name? The one your parents gave you?" She shakes her head but I'm not ready to give up yet. "I mean are you a Wendy? A Willow? Wanda? I don't know, Winnifred?"_

 _She looks thoughtful for a second. "Not Wanda. Winnifred."_

" _Okay," I hold out my hand. "It's nice to meet you, Winnifred. I'm Lia."_

 _She smiles- slowly at first, but then all at once into a happy grin. "Lia," she repeats._

"Fred?" I whisper.

"Oh my god it's really you!" Winnifred rushes forward as if she's about to hug me but then seems to change her mind at the last moment. She stands back awkwardly and just sort of looks at me. "I never thought I'd see you again."

I can't believe what I'm hearing. " _You_ never thought you'd see _me_ again!? I thought you were dead, Fred!"

"I know I'm sorry-" she starts to mumble.

"You just disappeared! I came back one day and you were gone. I looked everywhere. I searched the city. I waited for you for days… but you never came back."


	2. Winnifred

Oh my god. I can't believe it's really her. I haven't seen Cecelia since the day the Avengers took me in. It's been five years. I stand rigid and still. Our eyes are locked on each other, and I can't tell what emotion her big brown eyes are trying to express. I can tell my mouth is gaping open, trying to form words, but I don't have any idea what to say to her. Oh god what am I supposed to say to her?

"I-" I start to speak but I'm quickly cut off by Wanda re-entering the room. She places the box she grabbed from the car onto the floor and smiles cheerfully at Lia.

"Hi! You must be Fred's new roommate, I"m her older sister Wanda." She sticks out her hand to shake Lia's. Lia's eyes are still locked on mine, so she makes no move to respond to this gesture. Wanda's smile falters. She turns back to me. "So, should we start unpacking?" I nod and break my eyes from Lia's. I can tell my eyes are watering. I wish I didn't cry so easily. Wanda looks at me, worried. She always worries too much about me. "Fred?" she says again, and I wipe my eyes and smile at her.

"Yes, we have tons to unpack."

As I unpack all my boxes of clothes, I try to figure out what I'm supposed to say to Cecelia. Cecelia was my first friend, my only friend for my first few years on earth. Before her my life was just labs and needles and scientists. When I was ten, they ditched me on earth, and Cecelia saved my life. I owe her everything. When Tony Stark found me, I didn't get a chance to say goodbye to her before I was swept away into the world of the Avengers. I tried to go back to look for her, but she was gone.

" _Hello? Is anybody there?"_

 _A man's voice calls out and I try to press myself as far into my hiding spot as I can. Adults never have good intentions. They either want to take you to foster care, or the police._

" _Listen I don't want to hurt you. I know what you can do. I want to help you"_

 _He knows what I can do? He doesn't mean? No he can't. I've never told anyone about my powers, not even Cecelia. I wish she was here right now, she would know what to do, she would know how to get rid of him._

" _My name is Tony Stark. I'm a member of the Avengers. I know about your abilities and I want to help you learn how to control them."_

 _Tony Stark? That's impossible. How does he know about me?_

" _Hi hun."_

 _I look up and he's standing over me. I try to get onto my feet, get away from him, but he grabs my arm._

" _Hun, stop please. I want to take you back to the Avengers Tower. We'll get you a shower, a meal and some new clothes. We want to help you use your powers in the right way._

 _I look at him, dead in the eyes. I could use my powers to get away from him I know I could, but something makes me want to believe him. No, I can't believe him, he's an adult._

" _Grown-ups lie." I whisper and his face softens a bit._

" _I'm not lying hun, I promise." he pauses. "I swear on my father's grave."_

 _I want to believe him. I do believe him. I nod, and he takes my hand and leads me to a car._

From there, my life exploded. I was taken to Avengers tower, given a new life, a new family, and a new purpose. The day Tony Stark took me in was the best day of my life. But it was also the worst. I lost my best friend. My only friend, and all the family in the world couldn't make up for it. I sigh and look up from my unpacking. Wanda is hanging up fairy lights above my bed. I move over to her and whisper in her ear.

"Hey, do you think you could give me a minute with my new roommate?" She nods and grabs my hand and squeezes it three times. This is something we've always done. Whenever one of us has to do something scary or overwhelming (which tends to happen a lot in my line of work), the other will squeeze their hand three times, and everything is okay. Wanda exits the room and I turn to Cecelia, who is now sitting on her bed, doing something on her laptop.

"Lia?"

"Don't call me that," she says, "Only my friends get to call me that."

I take a deep breath and start again. "Cecelia, can we talk?"

"I have nothing to say to you." she retorts.

"Cecelia please, hear me out. We're going to be living together all year, we might as well be civil with one another."

She sighs. "Fine, but I'm going to need a pretty fucking good explanation for abandoning me."

I take another breath. "August seventh, 2014." I start,

"Yeah I think I remember the date of the worst day of my life."

"I was taken." I say, "By a kind man who gave me a life and a home." Lia rolls her eyes,

"You had a life with me!" she says.

"I know." I say, "and I'm forever going to regret not making sure that he took you as well." I look down. "It was stupid. I was just so shocked by this man's kindness and I assumed I would come back for you the next day."

"You didn't" she says simply. "I waited for you for four fucking days and you didn't come back."

"I know." I say again. "I came back after six days. Everything happened so fast and I didn't have time to even wrap my head around everything. I came back as soon as I could. And you were gone."

"Well I wasn't about to stay there!" She says, "I thought you had been murdered or something, and i wasn't going to sit around like a goose waiting for someone to kill me too!"

"Duck." I mumble.

"What?"

"You said sitting goose, the expression is sitting duck." She stares at me, bewildered.

"Fuck you." she says and turns away.

"No Lia please!" I am crying a bit now. "Lia I missed you so much, I missed you every day, I was devastated when you were gone all I ever wanted was for you to get the same amazing life that I was given." I'm starting to hyperventilate, I don't know how to make her understand how much I missed her. She looks back at me and her expression softens a bit when she sees the state I've worked myself into.

"Hey." she says, and reaches out to grab my hand. She places it on her upper chest and I am able to slow my breathing to match hers. It feels like I'm 11 again. As soon as I catch my breath, she moves my hand away. She looks at me for a minute and then returns to her laptop.

"You should go finish unpacking." She says, and I nod and back away from her. I look up at the ceiling and steady myself, then I go out of the room to find Wanda.


End file.
